BFA-Fairfax's Kayla Mathieu, center, takes a lead as Milton's Katie Rayner, left, and Kara Donaldson look to make a play during Wednesday's Division II softball semifinal in Fairfax.
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Top-seeded Fairfax (17-0) will face the winner of No. 3 Springfield vs. No. 7 Randolph on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Poultney High School for the title.

The Bullets are looking for their third title in four years.

Fairfax tallied its run in the bottom of the first inning, when Nester came around on an error from Milton pitcher Katie Rayner.

"It's not for lack of heart and soul from these kids," said Milton coach Heidi Slayton. "You want it for them so bad ... this is a team that overcame amazing hurdles throughout the season, they should hold their heads high.

"They were determined to make a mark. It's been 15 years since Milton has been to a final, we were really hoping for it."

Nester drew a walk to lead off the inning, then stole second base to get into scoring position. A sacrifice bunt from Kaitlyn Barnack advanced the Fairfax catcher to third.

"We've got to put one on the board in the first inning, we've got to strike first," Witalec said. "The kids saw the value of putting a run on the board in the first inning and they also saw the value of bunting.

"You can say 'bunts win ballgames' over and over, but until you have a moment like this where bunts do lead to that one run in the game, it really hits home," Witalec said.

She came around to score when Chloe White's bunt to Rayner forced an overthrow to first base.

"It all comes down to who puts one across the plate first," Witalec said. "Somebody gets lucky, somebody has a couple of timely hits or bunts and puts one acrosse the plate."

That was the only run that Mathieu would need, as she struck out 10 batters, allowed only one hit — a single up the middle to Nichole Brady — in a seven-inning shutout performance.

"Kayla has, for her entire career, been synonymous with composure," Witalec said. "Doesn't matter if it's an early season, in the middle of April or whether we are in the semifinal against probably the best team we have faced all year, she's cool, keeps her head."